Saturday Star Parties continue at observatory

The Jack C. Davis Observatory at Western Nevada College offers Saturday Star Parties sponsored by the Western Nevada Astronomical Society.

Observatory doors open at 6:30 p.m. and lectures start at 7 p.m. The following programs will be offered:

April 9, "Killer Asteroids From Outer Space." This slide-show lecture by Mike Thomas covers the major asteroid strikes of the past, and the possibility of future collisions. The presentation also discusses the chances of a life extinction asteroid event coming.

April 16. "The Crusades." This is the Mike Thomas slide-show lecture about these historic wars of the past, between the cultures of the Western and the Arabic world.

April 23, "The Mars Rovers." This lecure presentation by Thomas tells the story of the two Mars Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, and their ongoing seven-year mission. The slide show includes many images of the surface of the red planet, and provides the latest information about the status of the rovers.

April 30, "The Legend of Wyatt Earp." Thomas' lecture relates the true story of this legendary lawman of the Old West. The slide show includes many photographs of the men and women who were part of the frontier in the days of Dodge City and Tombstone, the town that wouldn't die.

May 7th: "A Giant Step" Part One. The first of a two-part lecture covering the beginning days of NASA and the U.S. Space Program. This lecture by Thomas tells the story of the first astronauts and the Mecury, Gemini and initial Apollo missions.

May 14, "A Giant Step" Part Two. The second part of the two-part lecture on America's effort to put a man on the Moon. In this presentation, Thomas addresses the epic story of the Apollo Eleven Mission, which landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon in July, 1969.

Weather permitting, there will be telescope viewing provided every Saturday evening after the lecture.

The Star Parties will proceed unless it is snowing. For more information, call Thomas at 775-857-3033. Western Nevada College is at 2201 W. College Parkway.